Sunday, August 1, 2010

Yesterday we took a helicopter flight to see Victoria Falls from the air (see photo above). It's really quite spectacular. Victoria Falls is considered by many to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It's much wider than Niagara, and a bit taller as I recall. But Iguazu falls (claimed in part by both Argentina and Brazil) is much wider and much more visible. As this photo shows, the water that pours over Vic Falls dumps into a narrow ravine, so that the falls themselves are only visible from the air or from the opposite side of the ravine. But the latter view is obscured tremendously by all the water vapor that comes rushing up from the bottom. It gave us the impression of being in the midst of a huge rainstorm.

Iguazu, on the other hand, is very visible from far away, and more easily accessible. It doesn't dump into a ravine, but is horseshoe-shaped so that you can see it from far away and from many interior angles. I would urge that waterfall lovers visit both falls, since they each have unique and very impressive characteristics.

If you do visit Iguazu, I would suggest flying to Buenos Aires and taking a flight from there to Iguazu. The best place to stay is the Sheraton Hotel on the Argentine side of the falls. But be sure to see the Brazilian side as well.

5 comments:

As a faithful reader of your blog I now find your travel pieces even more captivating. Thanks for the photos from Africa and the colorful descriptions. In fact, after showing my wife your earlier posts, she told me about this post with the aerial view of Victoria Falls. She asked about your economic comments so I think she might start being a regular reader! Have a safe trip.

The Laffer article is indeed better than his earlier fear-mongering article. I thought that one was really just a way for Art to keep alive the hope that taxes won't go up by trying to scare people. This article today is a better way of arguing in favor of no tax increases, since it presents the issue from the point of view of logic and facts.